Beatles Video Game Coming

You'll be able to play Beatles songs on some type of video game console at some point next year.

Apple Corps Ltd. has partnered with MTV Networks and Harmonix, the folks behind the Rock Band video games, to develop a new Beatles-based game. According to Billboard.com, the game won't be part of Rock Band, but will be based on the same model. A title and release date have yet to be confirmed, though the game is likely to be released sometime late next year.

The two surviving Beatles, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney, are involved with the project, as are Yoko Ono Lennon and Olivia Harrison, the respective widows of John Lennon and George Harrison.

"The project is a fun idea which broadens the appeal of The Beatles and their music," McCartney said in a statement. "I like people having the opportunity to get to know the music from the inside out."

Starr added in his own statement: "The Beatles continue to evolve with the passing of time and how wonderful that The Beatles' legacy will find its natural progression into the 21st century through the computerized world we live in. Let the games commence."

Giles Martin, the son of Beatles producer George Martin, has signed on as the project's music producer. All the music will come from The Beatles' master recordings and won't be remixed or remastered in any way.

Apple Corps head Jeff Jones told Billboard.com this doesn't necessarily mean the Beatles catalogue will be available for download on Rock Band video games. It's also not known whether the game will be compatible with Rock Band or Rock Band 2.

The deal is a bit of a watershed since The Beatles are notorious for not licensing their songs for use by outside companies. For example, none of their songs appear on Apple's iTunes store.

DFC Intelligence, which monitors the video game industry, reports that music and dance games generated more than $1.2 billion U.S. in domestic revenue last year and that American sales were closing in on $1 billion at the end of September — before the lucrative Christmas season — this year.